Multiple start symbols for new radio-unlicensed (nr-u) physical uplink shared channel (pusch)

ABSTRACT

Wireless communications systems and methods related to scheduling and communicating in an uplink direction over a medium shared by multiple network operating entities are provided. A first wireless communication device transmits, to a second wireless communication device, a message indicating an uplink allocation in a transmission slot, the uplink allocation including an allocation size based on an allowable listen-before-talk (LBT) delay in the transmission slot. The first wireless communication device receives, from the second wireless communication device, an uplink communication signal in the transmission slot, the uplink communication signal including an uplink data portion based on the allocation size and a filler portion associated with an LBT delay in the transmission slot.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to and the benefit of IndiaPatent Application No. 201841007755, filed Mar. 1, 2018, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth belowand for all applicable purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to wireless communication systems, and moreparticularly to scheduling and communicating in an uplink (UL) directionover a medium shared by multiple network operating entities.

INTRODUCTION

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication content such as voice, video, packet data,messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable ofsupporting communication with multiple users by sharing the availablesystem resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). A wirelessmultiple-access communications system may include a number of basestations (BSs), each simultaneously supporting communication formultiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as userequipment (UE).

To meet the growing demands for expanded mobile broadband connectivity,wireless communication technologies are advancing from the LTEtechnology to a next generation new radio (NR) technology. One techniquefor expanding connectivity may be to extend the frequency operationrange to higher frequencies since lower frequencies are becomingover-crowded. In addition, NR may provision for dynamic medium sharingamong network operating entities in a shared spectrum and/or anunlicensed spectrum.

An approach to sharing a communication medium or spectrum among networkoperating entities is to employ a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure toensure a particular channel is clear before transmitting a message. Forexample, a BS may schedule a UL grant for a UE to transmit in a certaintime period. The UE may perform an LBT prior to the scheduled timeperiod. When the LBT is successful (e.g., the channel is clear), the UEmay transmit a UL signal to the BS during the scheduled time period.However, the UE may or may not begin the transmission at the beginningof the scheduled time period depending on the LBT completion time. Assuch, the available transmission duration may vary. Since a UE maytypically generate a transport block (TB) or a packet for thetransmission before the scheduled transmission time, the TB or packetmay or may not fit within the available transmission duration.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES

The following summarizes some aspects of the present disclosure toprovide a basic understanding of the discussed technology. This summaryis not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of thedisclosure, and is intended neither to identify key or critical elementsof all aspects of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of any orall aspects of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present someconcepts of one or more aspects of the disclosure in summary form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

For example, in an aspect of the disclosure, a method of wirelesscommunication, including transmitting, by a first wireless communicationdevice to a second wireless communication device, a message indicatingan uplink allocation in a transmission slot, the uplink allocationincluding an allocation size based on an allowable listen-before-talk(LBT) delay in the transmission slot; and receiving, by the firstwireless communication device from the second wireless communicationdevice, an uplink communication signal in the transmission slot, theuplink communication signal including an uplink data portion based onthe allocation size and a filler portion associated with an LBT delay inthe transmission slot.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a method of wirelesscommunication including receiving, by a first wireless communicationdevice from a second wireless communication device, a message indicatingan uplink allocation in a transmission slot, the uplink allocationincluding an allocation size based on an allowable listen-before-talk(LBT) delay in the transmission slot; and transmitting, by the firstwireless communication device to the second wireless communicationdevice, an uplink communication signal in the transmission slot, theuplink communication signal including an uplink data portion based onthe allocation size and a filler portion based on an LBT delay in thetransmission slot.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus including atransceiver configured to: transmit, to a second wireless communicationdevice, a message indicating an uplink allocation in a transmissionslot, the uplink allocation including an allocation size based on anallowable listen-before-talk (LBT) delay in the transmission slot; andreceive, from the second wireless communication device, an uplinkcommunication signal in the transmission slot, the uplink communicationsignal including an uplink data portion based on the allocation size anda filler portion associated with an LBT delay in the transmission slot.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus including atransceiver configured to receive, from a second wireless communicationdevice, a message indicating an uplink allocation in a transmissionslot, the uplink allocation including an allocation size based on anallowable listen-before-talk (LBT) delay in the transmission slot; andtransmit, to the second wireless communication device, an uplinkcommunication signal in the transmission slot, the uplink communicationsignal including an uplink data portion based on the allocation size anda filler portion based on an LBT delay in the transmission slot.

Other aspects, features, and embodiments of the present invention willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewingthe following description of specific, exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Whilefeatures of the present invention may be discussed relative to certainembodiments and figures below, all embodiments of the present inventioncan include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein.In other words, while one or more embodiments may be discussed as havingcertain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also beused in accordance with the various embodiments of the inventiondiscussed herein. In similar fashion, while exemplary embodiments may bediscussed below as device, system, or method embodiments it should beunderstood that such exemplary embodiments can be implemented in variousdevices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication network according to someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates example an uplink (UL) transmission scenariosaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary user equipment (UE) accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary base station (BS) according toembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a timing diagram illustrating a UL scheduling and transmissionscheme according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a timing diagram illustrating a UL scheduling and transmissionscheme according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a timing diagram illustrating a UL transmission schemeaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a timing diagram illustrating a UL transmission schemeaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a timing diagram illustrating a UL transmission schemeaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a timing diagram illustrating a UL transmission schemeaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a timing diagram illustrating a UL transmission schemeaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a signaling diagram of a UL communication method according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of a UL communication method according toembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of a UL communication method according toembodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below, in connection with theappended drawings, is intended as a description of variousconfigurations and is not intended to represent the only configurationsin which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detaileddescription includes specific details for the purpose of providing athorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may bepracticed without these specific details. In some instances, well-knownstructures and components are shown in block diagram form in order toavoid obscuring such concepts.

This disclosure relates generally to providing or participating inauthorized shared access between two or more wireless communicationssystems, also referred to as wireless communications networks. Invarious embodiments, the techniques and apparatus may be used forwireless communication networks such as code division multiple access(CDMA) networks, time division multiple access (TDMA) networks,frequency division multiple access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal FDMA(OFDMA) networks, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, LTE networks,GSM networks, 5^(th) Generation (5G) or new radio (NR) networks, as wellas other communications networks. As described herein, the terms“networks” and “systems” may be used interchangeably.

An OFDMA network may implement a radio technology such as evolved UTRA(E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM and thelike. UTRA, E-UTRA, and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)are part of universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS). Inparticular, long term evolution (LTE) is a release of UMTS that usesE-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS and LTE are described in documentsprovided from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project”(3GPP), and cdma2000 is described in documents from an organizationnamed “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2). These variousradio technologies and standards are known or are being developed. Forexample, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is acollaboration between groups of telecommunications associations thataims to define a globally applicable third generation (3G) mobile phonespecification. 3GPP long term evolution (LTE) is a 3GPP project whichwas aimed at improving the universal mobile telecommunications system(UMTS) mobile phone standard. The 3GPP may define specifications for thenext generation of mobile networks, mobile systems, and mobile devices.The present disclosure is concerned with the evolution of wirelesstechnologies from LTE, 4G, 5G, NR, and beyond with shared access towireless spectrum between networks using a collection of new anddifferent radio access technologies or radio air interfaces.

In particular, 5G networks contemplate diverse deployments, diversespectrum, and diverse services and devices that may be implemented usingan OFDM-based unified, air interface. In order to achieve these goals,further enhancements to LTE and LTE-A are considered in addition todevelopment of the new radio technology for 5G NR networks. The 5G NRwill be capable of scaling to provide coverage (1) to a massive Internetof things (IoTs) with a ULtra-high density (e.g., ˜1M nodes/km²),ultra-low complexity (e.g., ˜10 s of bits/sec), ultra-low energy (e.g.,˜10+ years of battery life), and deep coverage with the capability toreach challenging locations; (2) including mission-critical control withstrong security to safeguard sensitive personal, financial, orclassified information, ultra-high reliability (e.g., ˜99.9999%reliability), ultra-low latency (e.g., ˜1 ms), and users with wideranges of mobility or lack thereof; and (3) with enhanced mobilebroadband including extreme high capacity (e.g., ˜10 Tbps/km²), extremedata rates (e.g., multi-Gbps rate, 100+ Mbps user experienced rates),and deep awareness with advanced discovery and optimizations.

The 5G NR may be implemented to use optimized OFDM-based waveforms withscalable numerology and transmission time interval (TTI); having acommon, flexible framework to efficiently multiplex services andfeatures with a dynamic, low-latency time division duplex(TDD)/frequency division duplex (FDD) design; and with advanced wirelesstechnologies, such as massive multiple input, multiple output (MIMO),robust millimeter wave (mmWave) transmissions, advanced channel coding,and device-centric mobility. Scalability of the numerology in 5G NR,with scaling of subcarrier spacing, may efficiently address operatingdiverse services across diverse spectrum and diverse deployments. Forexample, in various outdoor and macro coverage deployments of less than3 GHz FDD/TDD implementations, subcarrier spacing may occur with 15 kHz,for example over 1, 5, 10, 20 MHz, and the like bandwidth. For othervarious outdoor and small cell coverage deployments of TDD greater than3 GHz, subcarrier spacing may occur with 30 kHz over 80/100 MHzbandwidth. For other various indoor wideband implementations, using aTDD over the unlicensed portion of the 5 GHz band, the subcarrierspacing may occur with 60 kHz over a 160 MHz bandwidth. Finally, forvarious deployments transmitting with mmWave components at a TDD of 28GHz, subcarrier spacing may occur with 120 kHz over a 500 MHz bandwidth.

The scalable numerology of the 5G NR facilitates scalable TTI fordiverse latency and quality of service (QoS) requirements. For example,shorter TTI may be used for low latency and high reliability, whilelonger TTI may be used for higher spectral efficiency. The efficientmultiplexing of long and short TTIs to allow transmissions to start onsymbol boundaries. 5G NR also contemplates a self-contained integratedsubframe design with uplink/downlink scheduling information, data, andacknowledgement in the same subframe. The self-contained integratedsubframe supports communications in unlicensed or contention-basedshared spectrum, adaptive uplink/downlink that may be flexiblyconfigured on a per-cell basis to dynamically switch between uplink anddownlink to meet the current traffic needs.

Various other aspects and features of the disclosure are furtherdescribed below. It should be apparent that the teachings herein may beembodied in a wide variety of forms and that any specific structure,function, or both being disclosed herein is merely representative andnot limiting. Based on the teachings herein one of an ordinary level ofskill in the art should appreciate that an aspect disclosed herein maybe implemented independently of any other aspects and that two or moreof these aspects may be combined in various ways. For example, anapparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using anynumber of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, such an apparatusmay be implemented or such a method may be practiced using otherstructure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition toor other than one or more of the aspects set forth herein. For example,a method may be implemented as part of a system, device, apparatus,and/or as instructions stored on a computer readable medium forexecution on a processor or computer. Furthermore, an aspect maycomprise at least one element of a claim.

The present application describes mechanisms for scheduling andcommunicating in an uplink (UL) direction over a medium or spectrumshared by multiple network operating entities. In the disclosedembodiments, a BS may consider LBT delays during scheduling. Forexample, the BS may determine an allocation in a transmission slot for aUE based on an allowable LBT delay at the UE. To account for a potentialLBT delay at the UE, the allocation may include a shortened duration orreduced size including fewer symbols than symbols available in thetransmission slot. The BS may transmit a UL grant to the UE in anearlier transmission slot. The UE may perform an LBT procedure prior tothe scheduled transmission slot. When the LBT is successful andcompletes before the allowable LBT delay in the scheduled transmissionslot, the UE may transmit a UL communication signal to the BS. The ULcommunication signal includes a UL data portion carrying encoded ULinformation bits corresponding to the allocation size. When the LBTprocedure completes at an earlier time than the allowable LBT delay, theUL communication can include a filler portion so that the ULcommunication signal occupies the medium for the entire remainingduration in the scheduled transmission slot after the LBT is completed.The filler portion serves to retain access to the medium for a nexttransmission slot. The filler portion can include filler data (e.g.,non-informational), pilot symbols, and/or a repetition of at least aportion of the encoded UL information bits. The filler portion can betransmitted before the UL data portion, after the UL data portion, orwithin the UL data portion.

In one embodiment, the BS can determine a plurality of candidatestarting symbols within the transmission slot for the UL allocationbased on the allowable LBT delay. The UE can select a starting symbolfrom among the plurality of candidate starting symbols for the ULtransmission based on a completion time of the LBT procedure. The BS mayperform blind detection to detect the beginning of the UL data portionupon receiving the UL communication signal.

In one embodiment, the BS can determine a delayed starting symbol in thetransmission slot for the UL allocation based on the allowable LBTdelay. The UE may transmit the UL data portion beginning at the delayedstarting symbol irrespective of the completion time of the LBT procedureas long as the LBT procedure completes within the allowable LBT delay.When the LBT procedure completes before the delayed starting symbol, theUE may insert a filler signal before the UL signal. Since the delayedstarting symbol is independent of an LBT completion time at the UE, theBS may detect whether a UL transmission signal is present in thetransmission slot. Upon detecting the presence of a UL transmissionsignal, the BS may recover and decode the UL data based on the delayedstarting symbol without blind detection on the starting symbol.

Aspects of the present application can provide several benefits. Forexample, the allocation with the shortened duration can allow a UE togenerate a transport block (TB) for the transmission prior to thetransmission time and transmit the TB after completing a successful LBTprocedure without applying puncturing or rate-matching. The inclusion ofpilot information and/or repetitions of encoded information in thefiller portion can improve performance, for example, channel estimation,frequency offset estimation, and/or data demodulation performance at theBS.

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication network 100 according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. The network 100 may be a 5Gnetwork. The network 100 includes a number of base stations (BSs) 105and other network entities. A BS 105 may be a station that communicateswith UEs 115 and may also be referred to as an evolved node B (eNB), anext generation eNB (gNB), an access point, and the like. Each BS 105may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to this particular geographic coveragearea of a BS 105 and/or a BS subsystem serving the coverage area,depending on the context in which the term is used.

A BS 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell or a smallcell, such as a pico cell or a femto cell, and/or other types of cell. Amacro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g.,several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEswith service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell, suchas a pico cell, would generally cover a relatively smaller geographicarea and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptionswith the network provider. A small cell, such as a femto cell, wouldalso generally cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home)and, in addition to unrestricted access, may also provide restrictedaccess by UEs having an association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in aclosed subscriber group (CSG), UEs for users in the home, and the like).A BS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a smallcell may be referred to as a small cell BS, a pico BS, a femto BS or ahome BS. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the BSs 105 d and 105 e may beregular macro BSs, while the BSs 105 a-105 c may be macro BSs enabledwith one of 3 dimension (3D), full dimension (FD), or massive MIMO. TheBSs 105 a-105 c may take advantage of their higher dimension MIMOcapabilities to exploit 3D beamforming in both elevation and azimuthbeamforming to increase coverage and capacity. The BS 105 f may be asmall cell BS which may be a home node or portable access point. A BS105 may support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like)cells.

The network 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. Forsynchronous operation, the BSs may have similar frame timing, andtransmissions from different BSs may be approximately aligned in time.For asynchronous operation, the BSs may have different frame timing, andtransmissions from different BSs may not be aligned in time.

The UEs 115 are dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and eachUE 115 may be stationary or mobile. A UE 115 may also be referred to asa terminal, a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, or the like.A UE 115 may be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), awireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, atablet computer, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless localloop (WLL) station, or the like. In one aspect, a UE 115 may be a devicethat includes a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC). In anotheraspect, a UE may be a device that does not include a UICC. In someaspects, the UEs 115 that do not include UICCs may also be referred toas internet of everything (IoE) devices. The UEs 115 a-115 d areexamples of mobile smart phone-type devices accessing network 100 A UE115 may also be a machine specifically configured for connectedcommunication, including machine type communication (MTC), enhanced MTC(eMTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and the like. The UEs 115 e-115 k areexamples of various machines configured for communication that accessthe network 100. A UE 115 may be able to communicate with any type ofthe BSs, whether macro BS, small cell, or the like. In FIG. 1, alightning bolt (e.g., communication links) indicates wirelesstransmissions between a UE 115 and a serving BS 105, which is a BSdesignated to serve the UE 115 on the downlink and/or uplink, or desiredtransmission between BSs, and backhaul transmissions between BSs.

In operation, the BSs 105 a-105 c may serve the UEs 115 a and 115 busing 3D beamforming and coordinated spatial techniques, such ascoordinated multipoint (CoMP) or multi-connectivity. The macro BS 105 dmay perform backhaul communications with the BSs 105 a-105 c, as well assmall cell, the BS 105 f. The macro BS 105 d may also transmitsmulticast services which are subscribed to and received by the UEs 115 cand 115 d. Such multicast services may include mobile television orstream video, or may include other services for providing communityinformation, such as weather emergencies or alerts, such as Amber alertsor gray alerts.

The network 100 may also support mission critical communications withultra-reliable and redundant links for mission critical devices, such asthe UE 115 e, which may be a drone. Redundant communication links withthe UE 115 e may include links from the macro BSs 105 d and 105 e, aswell as links from the small cell BS 105 f. Other machine type devices,such as the UE 115 f (e.g., a thermometer), the UE 115 g (e.g., smartmeter), and UE 115 h (e.g., wearable device) may communicate through thenetwork 100 either directly with BSs, such as the small cell BS 105 f,and the macro BS 105 e, or in multi-hop configurations by communicatingwith another user device which relays its information to the network,such as the UE 115 f communicating temperature measurement informationto the smart meter, the UE 115 g, which is then reported to the networkthrough the small cell BS 105 f. The network 100 may also provideadditional network efficiency through dynamic, low-latency TDD/FDDcommunications, such as in a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)

In some implementations, the network 100 utilizes OFDM-based waveformsfor communications. An OFDM-based system may partition the systembandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are alsocommonly referred to as subcarriers, tones, bins, or the like. Eachsubcarrier may be modulated with data. In some instances, the subcarrierspacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total numberof subcarriers (K) may be dependent on the system bandwidth. The systembandwidth may also be partitioned into subbands. In other instances, thesubcarrier spacing and/or the duration of TTIs may be scalable.

In an embodiment, the BSs 105 can assign or schedule transmissionresources (e.g., in the form of time-frequency resource blocks (RB)) forDL and UL transmissions in the network 100. DL refers to thetransmission direction from a BS 105 to a UE 115, whereas UL refers tothe transmission direction from a UE 115 to a BS 105. The communicationcan be in the form of radio frames. A radio frame may be divided into aplurality of subframes, for example, about 10. Each subframe can bedivided into slots, for example, about 2. Each slot may be furtherdivided into mini-slots. In a frequency-division duplexing (FDD) mode,simultaneous UL and DL transmissions may occur in different frequencybands. For example, each subframe includes a UL subframe in a ULfrequency band and a DL subframe in a DL frequency band. In atime-division duplexing (TDD) mode, UL and DL transmissions occur atdifferent time periods using the same frequency band. For example, asubset of the subframes (e.g., DL subframes) in a radio frame may beused for DL transmissions and another subset of the subframes (e.g., ULsubframes) in the radio frame may be used for UL transmissions.

The DL subframes and the UL subframes can be further divided intoseveral regions. For example, each DL or UL subframe may havepre-defined regions for transmissions of reference signals, controlinformation, and data. Reference signals are predetermined signals thatfacilitate the communications between the BSs 105 and the UEs 115. Forexample, a reference signal can have a particular pilot pattern orstructure, where pilot tones may span across an operational bandwidth orfrequency band, each positioned at a pre-defined time and a pre-definedfrequency. For example, a BS 105 may transmit cell specific referencesignals (CRSs) and/or channel state information-reference signals(CSI-RSs) to enable a UE 115 to estimate a DL channel. Similarly, a UE115 may transmit sounding reference signals (SRSs) to enable a BS 105 toestimate a UL channel Control information may include resourceassignments and protocol controls. Data may include protocol data and/oroperational data. In some embodiments, the BSs 105 and the UEs 115 maycommunicate using self-contained subframes. A self-contained subframemay include a portion for DL communication and a portion for ULcommunication. A self-contained subframe can be DL-centric orUL-centric. A DL-centric subframe may include a longer duration for DLcommunication tha UL communication. A UL-centric subframe may include alonger duration for UL communication tha UL communication.

In an embodiment, the network 100 may be an NR network deployed over alicensed spectrum. The BSs 105 can transmit synchronization signals(e.g., including a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondarysynchronization signal (SSS)) in the network 100 to facilitatesynchronization. The BSs 105 can broadcast system information associatedwith the network 100 (e.g., including a master information block (MIB),remaining minimum system information (RMSI), and other systeminformation (OSI)) to facilitate initial network access. In someinstances, the BSs 105 may broadcast the PSS, the SSS, the MIB, theRMSI, and/or the OSI in the form of synchronization signal blocks(SSBs).

In an embodiment, a UE 115 attempting to access the network 100 mayperform an initial cell search by detecting a PSS from a BS 105. The PSSmay enable synchronization of period timing and may indicate a physicallayer identity value. The UE 115 may then receive a SSS. The SSS mayenable radio frame synchronization, and may provide a cell identityvalue, which may be combined with the physical layer identity value toidentify the cell. The SSS may also enable detection of a duplexing modeand a cyclic prefix length. Some systems, such as TDD systems, maytransmit an SSS but not a PSS. Both the PSS and the SSS may be locatedin a central portion of a carrier, respectively.

After receiving the PSS and SSS, the UE 115 may receive a MIB, which maybe transmitted in the physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The MIB mayinclude system information for initial network access and schedulinginformation for RMSI and/or OSI. After decoding the MIB, the UE 115 mayreceive RMSI and/or OSI. The RMSI and/or OSI may include radio resourceconfiguration (RRC) configuration information related to random accesschannel (RACH) procedures, paging, physical uplink control channel(PUCCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), power control, SRS, andcell barring. After obtaining the MIB and/or the SIBs, the UE 115 canperform a random access procedure to establish a connection with the BS105. After establishing a connection, the UE 115 and the BS 105 canenter a normal operation stage, where operational data may be exchanged.

In an embodiment, the network 100 may operate over a shared channel,which may include a licensed spectrum, a shared spectrum, and/or anunlicensed spectrum, and may support dynamic medium sharing. The BSs 105and the UEs 115 may communicate over the shared channel by performingLBT procedures. For example, after a BS 105 gain access or atransmission opportunity (TXOP) in the shared channel, the BS 105 mayschedule a UE 115 for a UL transmission in a certain time period (e.g.,a transmission slot within the TXOP). The UE 115 may listen to thechannel by performing an LBT procedure prior to the scheduled timeperiod. When the LBT is successful or the channel is clear, the UE 115may transmit a UL communication signal, such as a PUSCH signal or a longPUCCH signal, to the BS 105. Since the completion time and/or the resultof the LBT procedure are unknown ahead of time, the UE 115 may or maynot be able to transmit in the scheduled time period. In addition, theUE 115 may or may not be able to start transmission at the beginning ofthe scheduled time period. The BS 105 may determine the UL schedule byconsidering potential delays that can occur with LBT or a maximumallowable LBT delay. Mechanisms for the BSs 105 and the UEs 115 tocommunicate in a shared medium with LBT delay considerations aredescribed in greater detail herein.

FIG. 2 is a timing diagram illustrating a UL communication scenario 200according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The scenario200 may correspond to UL communications between BSs (e.g., the BSs 105)and UEs (e.g., the UEs 115) in a network (e.g., the network 100) over ashared medium when the BSs 105 determine UL schedules withoutconsidering LBT delay. In FIG. 2, the x-axis represents time in someconstant units. FIG. 2 illustrates two transmission slots 202 forpurposes of simplicity of discussion, though it will be recognized thatembodiments of the present disclosure may scale to any suitable numberof transmission slots 202 (e.g., about, 3, 4, 5, 10, or more). Thetransmission slots 202 are shown as 202 _((n)) and 202 _((n+1)). Thetransmission slot 202 _((n)) begins at time T0 and the transmission slot202 _((n+1)) begins at time T2. Each transmission slot 202 may span asuitable duration and may vary depending on the embodiments. In someembodiments, each transmission slot 202 may include a duration of about0.5 milliseconds (ms) or about 1 ms. While the transmission slots 202are shown as consecutive in time, in some embodiments, the transmissionslots 202 may be spaced apart in time depending on the channel status(e.g., busy or clear).

As an example, a BS transmits a UL grant 212 to a UE in a transmissionslot 202 _((n)). The BS may transmit the UL grant 212 in a controlportion of the transmission slot 202 _((n)). The UL grant 212 mayindicate an allocation 214 in a subsequent transmission slot 202_((n+1)). The BS may determine an allocation size for the allocation214, for example, based on a payload size in a scheduling requestreceived from the UE. The BS may allocate time-frequency resources andassign a modulation coding scheme (MCS) for the allocation 214, forexample, based on a payload size in a scheduling request received fromthe UE. The UL grant 212 may indicate the allocated time-frequencyresource and the assigned MCS. The allocation or the allocated resourcemay span a number of subcarriers or tones in frequency and a number ofOFDM symbols (e.g., PUSCH data symbols) in time. For example, theallocation 214 or the number of allocated symbols spans a duration 216.

When the UE receives the UL grant 212, the UE may perform an LBTprocedure 222 prior to the transmission slot 202 _((n+1)) (e.g., at timeT1). However, the result of the LBT procedure 222 and/or the completiontime of the LBT procedure 222 may vary depending on transmissionactivities of other nodes sharing the medium.

The transmission timeline 220 shows an example of the UE completing anLBT procedure 222 a at the beginning of the transmission slot 202_((n+1)) (e.g., at time T1) with a successful result (e.g., the channelis clear). Thus, the UE may transmit a UL data signal 224 a (e.g., aPUSCH signal or a long PUCCH signal) in the transmission slot 202_((n+1)) spanning the allocated duration 216.

The transmission timeline 230 shows an example of the UE completing anLBT procedure 222 b at the beginning of the transmission slot 202_((n+1)) (e.g., at time T2) with a failure result (e.g., the channel isoccupied). Thus, the UE may refrain from transmitting during theallocated duration 216 as shown by the cross.

The transmission timeline 240 shows an example of the UE beginning anLBT procedure 222 c at time T3 and completing the LBT procedure 222 cafter the beginning of the transmission slot 202 _((n+1)) (e.g., at timeT4) with a successful result. The UE may transmit a UL data signal 224 cin the remaining allocated duration 216 within the transmission slot 202_((n+1)). The UL data signal 224 c has a reduced duration 226 comparedto the allocated duration 216.

In an embodiment, upon receiving the UL grant 212, the UE may generate aTB for the transmission based on the allocated resources and assignedMCS. For example, the UE may determine a TB size based on the amount ofthe allocated resources (e.g., the number of data symbols in time andthe number of subcarriers in frequency) and the assigned MCS. The UE maygenerate the TB before the transmission time, for example, during thetransmission slot 202 _((n)). Thus, when the LBT procedure 222 ccompletes at a later time in the transmission slot 202 _((n+1)), the UEmay adjust the generated TB such that the UL data signal 224 c can betransmitted within the duration 226 (e.g., including a smaller number ofdata symbols than the allocated resources). Thus, in such an embodiment,the UE may rate match for the reduced symbols with an updated TB sizefor the reduced allocation. Since the TB size, channel encoding, ratematching may all need to be updated based on when an LBT passes,implementation of such a design may be very challenging.

In one embodiment, the UE may apply puncturing to reduce the number ofdata symbols required for carrying the TB. Puncturing refers to droppingof one or more data symbols, for example, at the beginning of the TBduring the transmission to account for the delay 228 caused by the LBTprocedure 222 c. The dropped symbols can be recovered withretransmissions. When using code block group (CBG)-level acknowledgement(ACK)/not-ACK (NACK) feedback-based retransmissions, the retransmissionscan include only the codeblock (CB) or CBs corresponding to the droppedsymbols. While retransmissions can recover the dropped symbols,retransmissions can be inefficient and degrade performance (e.g., ablock error rate (BLER) performance).

In one embodiment, the UE may apply rate-matching to reduce the numberof data symbols required for carrying the TB, but without updating theTB size (rate matching for reduced symbols with fixed TB size). Forexample, the UE may perform rate-matching to the TB such that the TB canbe carried using the available number of data symbols in the reducedduration 226. However, rate-matching may require some processing timeand the number of available symbols (e.g., the reduced duration 226) isnot known until the LBT procedure 222 c has completed. Thus, it may bedifficult for the UE in terms of processing timeline to performrate-matching after the LBT procedure 222 c.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary UE 300 according toembodiments of the present disclosure. The UE 300 may be a UE 115 asdiscussed above. As shown, the UE 300 may include a processor 302, amemory 304, a UL processing module 308, a transceiver 310 including amodem subsystem 312 and a radio frequency (RF) unit 314, and one or moreantennas 316. These elements may be in direct or indirect communicationwith each other, for example via one or more buses.

The processor 302 may include a central processing unit (CPU), a digitalsignal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), a controller, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device,another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereofconfigured to perform the operations described herein. The processor 302may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., acombination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other such configuration.

The memory 304 may include a cache memory (e.g., a cache memory of theprocessor 302), random access memory (RAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM),read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasableprogrammable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasableprogrammable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid state memorydevice, hard disk drives, other forms of volatile and non-volatilememory, or a combination of different types of memory. In an embodiment,the memory 304 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Thememory 304 may store instructions 306. The instructions 306 may includeinstructions that, when executed by the processor 302, cause theprocessor 302 to perform the operations described herein with referenceto the UEs 115 in connection with embodiments of the present disclosure,for example, aspects of FIGS. 5-14. Instructions 306 may also bereferred to as code. The terms “instructions” and “code” should beinterpreted broadly to include any type of computer-readablestatement(s). For example, the terms “instructions” and “code” may referto one or more programs, routines, sub-routines, functions, procedures,etc. “Instructions” and “code” may include a single computer-readablestatement or many computer-readable statements.

The UL processing module 308 may be implemented via hardware, software,or combinations thereof. For example, the UL processing module 308 maybe implemented as a processor, circuit, and/or instructions 306 storedin the memory 304 and executed by the processor 302. The UL processingmodule 308 may be used for various aspects of the present disclosure,for example, aspects of FIGS. 5-14. For example, the UL processingmodule 308 is configured to receive UL grants from a BS (e.g., the BSs105), generate TBs based on received UL grants, perform LBT procedures,generate fillers (e.g., including filler bits, pilot information, orrepetitions of data symbols carrying encoded information in the TB)based on received UL grants and LBT completion time, generate UL signalsto carry a TB and fillers, and/or transmit UL signals to the BS, asdescribed in greater detail herein.

As shown, the transceiver 310 may include the modem subsystem 312 andthe RF unit 314. The transceiver 310 can be configured to communicatebi-directionally with other devices, such as the BSs 105. The modemsubsystem 312 may be configured to modulate and/or encode the data fromthe memory 304, and/or the UL processing module 308 according to amodulation and coding scheme (MCS), e.g., a low-density parity check(LDPC) coding scheme, a turbo coding scheme, a convolutional codingscheme, a digital beamforming scheme, etc. The RF unit 314 may beconfigured to process (e.g., perform analog to digital conversion ordigital to analog conversion, etc.) modulated/encoded data from themodem subsystem 312 (on outbound transmissions) or of transmissionsoriginating from another source such as a UE 115 or a BS 105. The RFunit 314 may be further configured to perform analog beamforming inconjunction with the digital beamforming. Although shown as integratedtogether in transceiver 310, the modem subsystem 312 and the RF unit 314may be separate devices that are coupled together at the UE 115 toenable the UE 115 to communicate with other devices.

The RF unit 314 may provide the modulated and/or processed data, e.g.data packets (or, more generally, data messages that may contain one ormore data packets and other information), to the antennas 316 fortransmission to one or more other devices. The antennas 316 may furtherreceive data messages transmitted from other devices. The antennas 316may provide the received data messages for processing and/ordemodulation at the transceiver 310. The antennas 316 may includemultiple antennas of similar or different designs in order to sustainmultiple transmission links. The RF unit 314 may configure the antennas316.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary BS 400 according toembodiments of the present disclosure. The BS 400 may be a BS 105 asdiscussed above. A shown, the BS 400 may include a processor 402, amemory 404, a UL processing module 408, a transceiver 410 including amodem subsystem 412 and a RF unit 414, and one or more antennas 416.These elements may be in direct or indirect communication with eachother, for example via one or more buses.

The processor 402 may have various features as a specific-typeprocessor. For example, these may include a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, acontroller, a FPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device,or any combination thereof configured to perform the operationsdescribed herein. The processor 402 may also be implemented as acombination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and amicroprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

The memory 404 may include a cache memory (e.g., a cache memory of theprocessor 402), RAM, MRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, asolid state memory device, one or more hard disk drives, memristor-basedarrays, other forms of volatile and non-volatile memory, or acombination of different types of memory. In some embodiments, thememory 404 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Thememory 404 may store instructions 406. The instructions 406 may includeinstructions that, when executed by the processor 402, cause theprocessor 402 to perform operations described herein, for example,aspects of FIGS. 5-14. Instructions 406 may also be referred to as code,which may be interpreted broadly to include any type ofcomputer-readable statement(s) as discussed above with respect to FIG.3.

The UL processing module 408 may be implemented via hardware, software,or combinations thereof. For example, the UL processing module 408 maybe implemented as a processor, circuit, and/or instructions 406 storedin the memory 404 and executed by the processor 402. The UL processingmodule 408 may be used for various aspects of the present disclosure,for example, aspects of FIGS. 5-14. For example, the UL processingmodule 408 is configured to determine allowable LBT delays, scheduleuplink transmissions, determine uplink resources taking into account ofallowable LBT delays, determine candidate starting symbols for theallocations based on the allowable LBT delays, transmit UL grantsindicating allocated resources and/or candidate starting symbols to UEs(e.g., the UEs 115), determine configurations for UE to include fillers(e.g., including filler bits, pilot information, or repetitions ofencoded UL information) in UL transmissions, and/or receive UL signalsfrom UEs based on UL grants, as described in greater detail herein.

As shown, the transceiver 410 may include the modem subsystem 412 andthe RF unit 414. The transceiver 410 can be configured to communicatebi-directionally with other devices, such as the UEs 115 and/or anothercore network element. The modem subsystem 412 may be configured tomodulate and/or encode data according to a MCS, e.g., a LDPC codingscheme, a turbo coding scheme, a convolutional coding scheme, a digitalbeamforming scheme, etc. The RF unit 414 may be configured to process(e.g., perform analog to digital conversion or digital to analogconversion, etc.) modulated/encoded data from the modem subsystem 412(on outbound transmissions) or of transmissions originating from anothersource such as a UE 115 or 300. The RF unit 414 may be furtherconfigured to perform analog beamforming in conjunction with the digitalbeamforming. Although shown as integrated together in transceiver 410,the modem subsystem 412 and the RF unit 414 may be separate devices thatare coupled together at the BS 105 to enable the BS 105 to communicatewith other devices.

The RF unit 414 may provide the modulated and/or processed data, e.g.data packets (or, more generally, data messages that may contain one ormore data packets and other information), to the antennas 416 fortransmission to one or more other devices. The antennas 416 may furtherreceive data messages transmitted from other devices and provide thereceived data messages for processing and/or demodulation at thetransceiver 410. The antennas 416 may include multiple antennas ofsimilar or different designs in order to sustain multiple transmissionlinks.

FIGS. 5-6 illustrate various mechanisms for a BS (e.g., the BSs 105) toschedule UL transmissions with considerations of LBT delays at a UE(e.g., the UEs 115 and 300). In FIGS. 5 and 6, the x-axes represent timein some constant units.

FIG. 5 is a timing diagram illustrating a UL scheduling and transmissionscheme 500 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Thescheme 500 may be employed by the UEs 115 and 300 and the BSs 105 and400. Similar to the scenario 200, the scheduling timeline 510 shows a BStransmitting a UL grant 512 to a UE in a transmission slot 202 _((n)),where the UL grant 512 indicates an allocation 514 for the UE in asubsequent transmission slot 202 _((n+1)). However, the allocation 514has a shortened duration 516 spanning a portion of the transmission slot202 _((n+1)) instead of the entire duration 216 as the allocation 214shown in the scenario 200.

For example, each transmission slot 202 may include about five symbols502 (e.g., OFDM symbols) indexed S0 to S4. The BS may determine anallocation size (e.g., the duration 516 or the number of symbols 502) byconsidering an allowable LBT delay at the UE. For example, the BS mayallow a maximum LBT delay of about two symbols 502, and thus theallocation 514 may include about three symbols 502 as shown.

When the UE receives the UL grant 512, the UE may perform an LBTprocedure 522 (e.g., the LBT procedure 222) prior to the transmissionslot 202 _((n+1)) (e.g., beginning at time T1). Similar to the scenario200, the result of the LBT procedure 522 and/or the completion time ofthe LBT procedure 522 may vary depending on transmission activities ofother nodes sharing the medium.

The transmission timeline 520 shows an example of the UE completing anLBT procedure 522 a at the beginning of the transmission slot 202_((n+1)) (e.g., at time T1) with a successful result (e.g., a channelclear status). Thus, the UE may transmit a UL data signal 524 a (e.g., aPUSCH signal or a long PUCCH signal) in the transmission slot 202_((n+1)). As shown, the UL data signal 524 a includes a duration ofthree symbols 502 (e.g., indexed S0, S1, and S2) based on the allocation514. In addition, the UE may transmit a filler signal 526 a (e.g., shownas a blank box) after the UL data signal 524 a until the end of thetransmission slot 202 _((n+1)), for example, between time T5 and T7 orin the symbols 502 indexed S3 and S4. The symbols 502 indexed S3 and S4in which the filler signal 526 a is transmitted may be referred to asfiller symbols.

The transmission timeline 530 shows an example of the UE completing anLBT procedure 522 b at time T2 after the beginning of the transmissionslot 202 _((n+1)) with a successful result. Since the delay from the LBTprocedure 522 b is within the maximum LBT delay of two symbols 502, theUE may transmit a UL data signal 524 b beginning at a next symbolboundary (e.g., at time T3). In addition, the UE may transmit a fillersignal 526 b in the transmission slot 202 _((n+1)). The filler signal526 b includes a portion 526 b ₍₁₎ and a portion 526 b ₍₁₎. The portion526 b ₍₁₎ is transmitted before the UL data signal 524 b between time T2and T3 (e.g., a partial symbol 502) to fill in the gap time (e.g.,between time T2 and T3) in order to align the start of the UL datasignal 524 to a symbol boundary. The filler portion 526 b ₍₁₎ serves tokeep the medium occupy so that other nodes may not mistakenly determinethat the medium is free and gain access to the medium. The portion 526 b₍₂₎ is transmitted after the UL data signal 524 b, for example, betweentime T6 to T7 or in the symbol 502 indexed S4, until the end of thetransmission slot 202 _((n+1)).

The transmission timeline 540 shows an example of the UE completing anLBT procedure 522 c at time T4 after the beginning of the transmissionslot 202 _((n+1)) with a successful result. Similar to the timeline 530,the delay from the LBT procedure 522 c is within the maximum LBT delayof two symbols 502. Thus, the UE may transmit a UL data signal 524 c inthe transmission slot 202 _((n+1)). Since the LBT procedure 522 ccompletes at a symbol boundary and the UL data signal 524 c occupies theremaining three symbols 502 (e.g., indexed S2, S3 and S4) in thetransmission slot 202 _((n+1)), the UE is not required to transmit anyfiller signal (e.g., the filler signal 526).

To facilitate the scheme 500, the BS may determine an allocation size orduration for the allocation 514 based on a maximum allowable LBT delay560 at the UE. The BS may determine a number of candidate startingsymbols 550, 552, and 554 (e.g., S0, S1, and S2) and allow the UE toselect a starting symbol based on the completion time of an LBTprocedure 522 at the UE. The BS may reserve resources corresponding toall candidate starting symbols 550, 552, and 554. The BS may indicatethe candidate starting symbols 550, 552, and 554 in the UL grant 512. Insome other embodiments, the BS may indicate a range or a set ofallowable starting symbols within the transmission slot 202 _((n+1)).The set of allowable starting symbols may be contiguous symbols 502 inthe transmission slot 202 _((n+1)) or non-contiguous symbols 502 in thetransmission slot 202 _((n+1)). In addition, the BS may configure the UEto transmit filler data, pilots, or copies of encoded UL data (e.g., aportion of the UL data signal 524) in the filler signals 526, asdescribed in greater detail herein.

During UL reception, the BS may perform blind detection to detect thestart of a UL data signal based on the configured candidate startingsymbols. After detecting the start of a UL data signal 524, the BS mayrecover or decode UL data from the UL data signal 524. In an embodiment,the BS may determine the starting symbol 502 of the UL data signal 524based on demodulation reference signal (DMRS) detection in the differentcandidate starting symbols.

As can be seen in the scheme 500, since the UE is given an allocation514 with an allocation size accounting for an LBT delay at the UE, theUE may generate a TB ahead of the transmission time and avoid having toapply puncturing and/or rate-matching to reduce the transmissionduration (e.g., the number of symbols or the TB size) after completingan LBT as in the scenario 200 (e.g., the transmission timeline 240).Thus, the scheme 500 can improve transmission performance and may notrequire a stringent processing time on the UE.

In an embodiment, the UL data signals 524 a, 524 b, and 524 c mayinclude pilot information or DMRSs in certain symbols 502. A DMRS isgenerated from a scrambling sequence based on the symbol index of thesymbol in which the DMRS is transmitted. In one embodiment, a DMRS in aUL data signal 524 is generated based on the symbol index within thetransmission slot 202 _((n+1)). In other words, a DMRS in a first symbol502 of the UL data signal 524 a is generated based on a symbol index of0, a DMRS in a first symbol 502 of the UL data signal 524 b is generatedbased on a symbol index of 1, and a DMRS in a first symbol of 502 of theUL data signal 524 c is generated based on a symbol index of 2. Inanother embodiment, a DMRS in a UL data signal 524 is generated based ona symbol index relative to the starting symbols of the UL data signal524. In other words, a DMRS in a UL data signal 524 is generated from ascrambling sequence independent of the starting symbol of the UL datasignal 524. For example, a DMRS in a first symbol 502 of a UL datasignal 524 a, 524 b, or 524 c is generated based on a symbol index of 0.

FIG. 6 is a timing diagram illustrating a UL scheduling and transmissionscheme 600 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Thescheme 600 may be employed by the UEs 115 and 300 and the BSs 105 and400. Similar to the scheme 500, the scheduling timeline 610 shows a BStransmitting a UL grant 612 to a UE in a transmission slot 202 _((n)),where the UL grant 612 indicates an allocation 614 with a shortenedduration 616 (e.g., including about three symbols 502) in a transmissionslot 202 _((n+1)). However, in the scheme 600, the BS may determine adelayed starting symbol 604 and an allocation size for the allocation614 based on a maximum allowable LBT delay 602 at the UE instead ofmultiple candidate starting symbols 550, 552, 554 as in the scheme 500.For example, for a transmission slot of about five symbols 502, themaximum allowable LBT delay may be about two symbols 502 long and theallocation 614 may have duration of about three symbols 502

The transmission timeline 620 shows an example of the UE completing anLBT procedure 622 a at the beginning of the transmission slot 202_((n+1)) (e.g., beginning at time T1) with a successful result (e.g., achannel clear status). Thus, the UE may transmit a UL data signal 624 a(e.g., a PUSCH signal or a long PUCCH signal) in the transmission slot202 _((n+1)). As shown, the UE transmits a filler signal 626 a from timeT1 to time T4 and begins the transmission of the UL data signal 624 a atthe delayed starting symbol 604 (e.g., at time T4).

The transmission timeline 630 shows an example of the UE completing anLBT procedure 622 b at time T2 after the beginning of the transmissionslot 202 _((n+1)) with a successful result. Since the LBT procedure 622b is completed before the delayed starting symbol 604, the UE maytransmit a UL data signal 624 b in the transmission slot 202 _((n+1)).Similar to the transmission timeline 620, the UE may transmit a fillersignal 626 b before the UL data signal 624 b between time T2 and timeT4.

The transmission timeline 640 shows an example of the UE completing anLBT procedure 622 c at time T4 after the beginning of the transmissionslot 202 _((n+1)) with a successful result. Since the LBT procedure 622c is completed at the beginning of the delayed starting symbol 604, theUE may transmit a UL data signal 624 c in the transmission slot 202_((n+1)) without any filler signal.

Similar to the scheme 500, the scheme 600 allows a UE to generate a TBfor the transmission ahead of time without having to reduce thetransmission duration using puncturing and/or rate-matching tocompensate for the LBT delay. Thus, the scheme 600 can improveperformance without a stringent processing time requirement at the UE.In addition, since the allocation 614 has a fixed delayed startingsymbol 604, blind detection may not be required at the BS when using thescheme 600. Thus, the scheme 600 can reduce implementation complexity atthe BS compared to the scheme 500. The BS can configure the UE totransmit filler data, pilots, or copies of encoded UL data in the fillersignals 626 to further improve performance, as described in greaterdetail herein.

FIGS. 7-10 illustrate various mechanisms for a UE (e.g., the UEs 115 and300) to transmit a filler signal (e.g., the filler signals 526 and 626)in a transmission slot (e.g., the transmission slots 202) when a ULallocation (e.g., the allocations 514 and 614) has a reduced size (e.g.,the reduced durations 516 and 616). In FIGS. 7-10, the x-axes representtime in some constant units.

FIG. 7 is a timing diagram illustrating a UL transmission scheme 700according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The scheme 700may be employed by the UEs 115 and 300 and the BSs 105 and 400. Thescheme 700 can be used in conjunction with the schemes 500 or 600. Forexample, a transmission slot 202 may include about twelve symbols 502indexed S0 to S11 and a BS may assign an allocation 714 including aboutnine symbols 502 (e.g., S0 to S8) in the transmission slot 202 to a UE.The UE may transmit a UL data signal 724 (e.g., shown as data symbols D0to D9) according to the allocations 714 and a filler signal 726including filler data 730 in the remaining symbols 502 (e.g., S9 toS11). The filler data 730 does not carry useful information and can bearbitrary data. The filler data 730 serves to occupy the medium untilthe end of the transmission slot 202. The BS may discard the filler data730 upon reception.

FIG. 8 is a timing diagram illustrating a UL transmission scheme 800according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The scheme 800may be employed by the UEs 115 and 300 and the BSs 105 and 400. Thescheme 800 can be used in conjunction with the schemes 500 or 600. Thescheme 800 is illustrated using a substantially similar slot andallocation configuration as in the scheme 700. However, the BS mayconfigure the UE to transmit a filler signal 826 including DMRSs 830(e.g., pilot symbols) in the remaining symbols 502 (e.g., S10 to S12)after transmitting the UL data signal 724. The BS can determine achannel estimate based on the DMRSs 830 in addition to DMRSs that arecarried in certain symbols 502 within the UL data signal 724. Thus, thescheme 800 can improve performance. In some embodiments, the DMRSs 830in the filler signal 826 may be repetitions of DMRSs in the UL datasignal 724. In some other embodiments, the DMRSs 830 in the fillersignal 826 may be generated from a different scrambling sequence thanthe DMRSs in the UL data signal 724.

FIG. 9 is a timing diagram illustrating a UL transmission scheme 900according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The scheme 900may be employed by the UEs 115 and 300 and the BSs 105 and 400. Thescheme 900 can be used in conjunction with the schemes 500 or 600. Thescheme 900 is illustrated using a substantially similar slot andallocation configuration as in the schemes 700 and 800. However, the BSmay configure the UE to transmit a filler signal 926 including arepetition of a portion (e.g., one or more data symbols) of the UL datasignal 724. As shown, the filler signal 926 can include repeating datasymbols 930 of the UL data signal 724. For example, the UL data signal724 may include three CBs, where the first CB may be transmitted insymbols D0, D1, and D2, the second CB may be transmitted in symbols D3,D4, and D5, and the third CB may be transmitted in symbols D6, D7, andD8. The repeating data symbols 930 can be selected such that one datasymbol of each CB is repeated to provide a uniform improvement acrossthe CBs. As shown, the repeating data symbols 930 include symbols D1,D4, and D7 from the first, second, and third CBs, respectively.

FIG. 10 is a timing diagram illustrating a UL transmission scheme 1000according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The scheme 1000may be employed by the UEs 115 and 300 and the BSs 105 and 400. Thescheme 1000 can be used in conjunction with the schemes 500 or 600. Thescheme 1000 is illustrated using a substantially similar slot andallocation configuration as in the schemes 700, 800, and 900. Similar tothe scheme 900, the BS may configure the UE to transmit a filler signal1026 including a repetition of a portion of the UL data signal 724.However, the BS may configure the UE to transmit the filler signal 1026within the UL data signal 724. As shown, the filler signal 1026 includesmultiple portions or symbols 502 spaced apart within the UL data signal724, where a repetition of a data symbol 502 may follow the data symbol502 to ease implementation. For example, the repeating symbol D1 930follows the symbol D1 502 of the UL data signal 724. Similarly, therepeating symbol D4 930 follows the symbol D4 502 of the UL data signal724.

As can be seen, the symbol location and the number of DMRSs and/or datasymbols in a UL transmission may vary depending on whether the scheme700, 800, 900, or 1000 is used. However, all data symbols (e.g., D0 toD8) are transmitted at least once. When a data symbol (e.g., D1, D4, andD7) is repeated in a filler signal (e.g., the filler signals 926 and1026), the repeating data symbol (e.g., the repeating data symbols 930)is a copy of the original data symbol (e.g., encoded information bits)in a corresponding UL data signal. The inclusion of repeating datasymbols or DMRSs in a filler signal can improve channel estimationperformance, frequency offset estimation performance, and/or datademodulation performance at the BS's receiver.

While the schemes 700-1000 are described in the context of the scheme500, the mechanisms for transmitting filler data, repeating datasymbols, and/or DMRSs in the filler signals are suitable for use withthe scheme 600.

While the schemes 500-1000 are described in the context of limiting astarting symbol configuration such that a UL data (e.g., PUSCH or a longPUCCH) transmission fits into the duration of a transmission slot, insome embodiments, a staring symbol configuration may not have the samelimitation. For example, a certain candidate starting symbol may requirea UE to apply puncturing so that a UL data transmission can be within atransmission slot. Alternatively, a certain starting symbolconfiguration may allow an allocation to span multiple transmissionslots as shown in FIG. 11 below.

In addition, while the schemes 500-1000 are illustrated with a ULtransmission including a UL data signal (e.g., the UL data signals 524,624 and 724) and a filler signal (e.g., the filler signals 526, 626,726, 826, 926, and 1026) completing at the end of a transmission slot(e.g., the transmission slots 202), in some embodiments, there may be agap time before a next transmission slot. The gap time can allow a UEwith an allocation in a next transmission slot to perform LBT.Alternatively, a BS may configure a UE to transmit a SRS or a PUCCHsignal in the gap time.

As described above, a UE (e.g., the UEs 115 and 300) may apply ratematch for a particular TB size based on a number of symbols availableafter passing an LBT, apply rate match for a particular TB size based ona UL grant, apply puncturing, or generate TB based on an allocation witha given TB size or a given number of symbols. However, a UE may alsoapply a combination of the mechanisms described above. In an embodiment,a UE may determine whether to rate match after passing an LBT based on anumber of remaining symbols in an allocated transmission slot.

For example, the UE may require 2 symbol time to process a rate match.When the UE passes an LBT and there are 10 symbols remaining in atransmission slot, the UE may rate match for a TB size corresponding to8 symbols instead of a reduced allocation size given in a grant. The UEmay transmit 2 filler symbols while processing the rate match andcontinue to transmit the 8 rate-matched symbols. Alternatively, when theUE passes an LBT later in the transmission slot, the UE may applypuncturing or continue with the TB prepared based on the reducedallocation size given in a grant. In addition, the UE may determinewhether to transmit filler symbols at the end of the transmission slotbased on whether the UE has a grant for a subsequent transmission slot.For example, the UE may transmit filler symbols at the end of atransmission slot to occupy the medium when the UE has a scheduled grantfor a subsequent transmission slot.

As another example consider the case when UE is allowed to start atsymbol 0, 2, 7, 10 for a slot with 14 symbols and needs two symbol timefor rate matching. The UE may initially create a rate matches PUSCH withall 14 symbols. When LBT passes at symbol 0, the UE sends the fullPUSCH. When LBT passes at symbol 2, the UE sends punctured PUSCH orsends all 14 PUSCH symbols with 2 symbols occupying the next slot.However, if LBT fails at symbols 0 and 2, the UE knows that the nextstart symbol is at symbol 7. Hence, the UE can create a new rate matchedpacket corresponding to a length of 7 symbols. If LBT only passes atsymbol 7, the UE can transmit the reduced-size packet of 7 symbols. IfLBT passes at symbol 10, the UE can transmit the reduced-size packetwith puncturing or allow some of the symbols to occupy the next slot.

FIG. 11 is a timing diagram illustrating a UL scheduling andtransmission scheme 1100 according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In FIG. 11, the x-axis represents time in some constantunits. The scheme 1100 may be employed by the UEs 115 and 300 and theBSs 105 and 400. Similar to the scheme 500, the scheduling timeline 1110shows a BS transmitting a UL grant 1112 to a UE in a transmission slot202 _((n)) (e.g., beginning at time T0). The UL grant 1112 indicates anallocation 1114 with a shortened duration 1116 (e.g., including aboutfour symbols 502) allowable candidate starting symbols 1150, 1152, and1154 (e.g., S0, S1, and S4) in a transmission slot 202 _((n+1)) (e.g.,beginning at time T1). However, in the scheme 1100, the BS may allow atransmission to span multiple transmission slots 202 instead of limitinga transmission to be within a single transmission slot 202.

The transmission timeline 1120 shows an example of the UE completing anLBT procedure 1122 at time T2 with a successful result. The time T2corresponds to the last allowable starting symbol 1154 in thetransmission slot 202 _((n+1)). Thus, the UE transmits a UL data signal1124 (e.g., a PUSCH signal or a long PUCCH signal) beginning at thecandidate starting symbol 1154. As shown, the UL data signal 1124includes a duration of 4 symbols 502 and spans across transmission slots202 _((n+2)) and 202 _((n+2)). The UE may transmit a filler signal 1126until the end of the transmission slot 202 _((n+2)).

FIG. 12 is a signaling diagram of a UL communication method 1200according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 1200is implemented by a BS (e.g., the BSs 105 and 400) and a UE (e.g., theUEs 115 and 300) in a network (e.g., the network 100). Steps of themethod 1200 can be executed by computing devices (e.g., a processor,processing circuit, and/or other suitable component) of the BS and theUE. As illustrated, the method 1200 includes a number of enumeratedsteps, but embodiments of the method 1200 may include additional stepsbefore, after, and in between the enumerated steps. In some embodiments,one or more of the enumerated steps may be omitted or performed in adifferent order.

At step 1210, the BS transmits a configuration for UL transmission. Theconfiguration can indicate how a UE may transmit a filler signal (e.g.,the filler signals 526, 626, 726, 826, 926, 1026, and 1126) along with aUL data signal (e.g., the UL data signals 524, 624, 724, and 1124) in aUL transmission. For example, the configuration may include filler data(e.g., the filler data 730), DMRSs (e.g., the DMRSs 830), or copies ofdata symbols (e.g., the repeating data symbols 930) carried in acorresponding UL data signal.

The configuration may indicate whether a filler signal may betransmitted after a UL data signal (e.g., as shown in the schemes 500,700, 800, 900, and 1100), before a UL data signal (e.g., as shown in theschemes 500 and 600), or within a UL data signal (e.g., as shown in thescheme 1000).

The configuration may indicate whether a DMRS may be generated as afunction of symbol index (e.g., relative to a start of a transmissionslot 202) where the DMRS is transmitted or as a function of a relativesymbol index from the start of a corresponding UL data signal. Theconfiguration may indicate whether a DMRS in a filler signal may be arepeat of a DMRS in a corresponding UL data signal or a different DMRSgenerated from a different scrambling sequence than a DMRS in acorresponding UL data signal.

At step 1220, the BS determines a UL allocation (e.g., the allocation514, 614, 714, and 1114) in a transmission slot (e.g., the transmissionslots 202) for a UE.

At step 1230, the BS transmits a message (e.g., the UL grants 512 and612) indicating the UL allocation. In an embodiment, the message mayinclude a bit indicating whether the starting symbol (e.g., the startingsymbols 550, 552, 554, 604, 1150, 1152, 1154) for the UL allocation isfixed or may vary while a UL allocation may fit within the transmissionslot. In an embodiment, the message may include a set of bits indicatinga set of candidate or allowable starting symbols for the UL allocation.For example, the starting symbol may be any symbol in a range of symbols(e.g., the symbols 502) within the transmission slot, a set ofnon-contiguous symbols within the range. In some embodiments, thestarting symbol information may be jointly coded with time and/orfrequency resources allocated for the UL allocation. In someembodiments, the configuration may be transmitting in an RRC message andthe UL allocation may be transmitted via a downlink control information(DCI) message (e.g., a UL grant) in a PDCCH. In some embodiments, theconfiguration and the UL allocation message may be transmitted in thesame message.

At step 1240, the UE may perform an LBT procedure, for example, beforethe beginning of the transmission slot in which the UL allocation islocated.

At step 1250, when the LBT is successful, the UE may select a startingsymbol from among the candidate starting symbols indicated in the ULallocation message.

At step 1260, the UE transmits a UL communication signal including a ULdata signal (e.g., a PUSCH or long PUCCH signal) and a filler signalbased on the UL allocation message. The UL transmission may be similarto the transmission shown in the schemes 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000,1100, and/or 1200.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of a UL communication method 1300 according toembodiments of the present disclosure. Steps of the method 1300 can beexecuted by a computing device (e.g., a processor, processing circuit,and/or other suitable component) of a wireless communication device orother suitable means for performing the steps. For example, a wirelesscommunication device, such as the BS 105 or the BS 400, may utilize oneor more components, such as the processor 402, the memory 404, theuplink processing module 408, the transceiver 410, the modem 412, andthe one or more antennas 416, to execute the steps of method 1300. Themethod 1300 may employ similar mechanisms as in the schemes 500, 600,700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, and/or the method 1200 described with respectto FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and/or 12, respectively. As illustrated,the method 1300 includes a number of enumerated steps, but embodimentsof the method 1300 may include additional steps before, after, and inbetween the enumerated steps. In some embodiments, one or more of theenumerated steps may be omitted or performed in a different order.

At step 1310, the method 1300 includes transmitting, by a first wirelesscommunication device to a second wireless communication device, amessage indicating a UL allocation (e.g., the UL allocations 514, 614,714, and 1114) in a transmission slot (e.g., the transmission slots202). The UL allocation includes an allocation size based on anallowable LBT delay (e.g., the delays 560, 602, and 1160) in thetransmission slot. The first wireless communication device maycorrespond to a BS 105 and the second wireless communication device maycorrespond to a UE 115. The allocation size may correspond to theduration 516, 616, or 1116.

At step 1320, the method 1300 includes receiving, by the first wirelesscommunication device from the second wireless communication device, a ULcommunication signal in the transmission slot. The UL communicationsignal includes a UL data portion (e.g., the UL data signals 524, 624,724, and 1124) based on the allocation size and a filler portion (e.g.,the filler signals 526, 626, 726, 826, 926, 1026, and 1126) associatedwith an LBT delay (e.g., a LBT completion time at the second wirelesscommunication device) in the transmission slot.

The filler portion can be received before the UL data portion, after theUL data portion, and/or within the UL data portion. The filler portioncan include repetitions of encoded information (e.g., the repeating datasymbols 930) in the UL data portion, pilot information (e.g., the DMRSs830), and/or filler data (e.g., the filler data 730). The UL dataportion can include PUSCH data (e.g., data information bits) or longPUCCH data (e.g., control information bits).

In an embodiment, the first wireless communication device can furtherdetermine one or more candidate starting symbols (e.g., the candidatestarting symbols 550, 552, 554, and 604) within the transmission slotfor the UL allocation based on the allowable LBT delay. The message canindicate the candidate starting symbols in various formats. For example,the message can indicate a symbol range (e.g., from symbols 502 indexedS0 to S4) for the candidate starting symbols. The message can indicate aset of allowable symbols within the range. The set may include allsymbols within the range, a subset of contiguous symbols within therange, or a subset of non-contiguous symbols within the range. In anembodiment, the first wireless communication device can further performblind detection based on the candidate starting symbols.

In an embodiment, the first wireless communication device can furtherdetermine a channel estimate based on pilot information in the ULcommunication signal. The pilot information may be associated with ascrambling sequence. The pilot information may be generated from thescrambling sequence independent of a starting symbol of the UL dataportion. Alternatively, the pilot information may be generated from thescrambling sequence as a function of a symbol index within thetransmission slot.

In an embodiment, the first wireless communication device can furthertransmit a message indicating a configuration for transmitting at lastone of filler data, a repetition of UL data, or pilot information in thefiller portion.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of a UL communication method 1400 according toembodiments of the present disclosure. Steps of the method 1400 can beexecuted by a computing device (e.g., a processor, processing circuit,and/or other suitable component) of a wireless communication device orother suitable means for performing the steps. For example, a wirelesscommunication device, such as the UE 115 or UE 300, may utilize one ormore components, such as the processor 302, the memory 304, the uplinkprocessing module 308, the transceiver 310, the modem 312, and the oneor more antennas 316, to execute the steps of method 1400. The method1400 may employ similar mechanisms as in the schemes 500, 600, 700, 800,900, 1000, and 1100, and/or the method 1200 described with respect toFIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and/or 12, respectively. As illustrated,the method 1400 includes a number of enumerated steps, but embodimentsof the method 1400 may include additional steps before, after, and inbetween the enumerated steps. In some embodiments, one or more of theenumerated steps may be omitted or performed in a different order.

At step 1410, the method 1400 includes receiving, by a first wirelesscommunication device from a second wireless communication device, amessage indicating a UL allocation (e.g., the UL allocations 514, 614,714, and 1114) in a transmission slot (e.g., the transmission slots202). The UL allocation includes an allocation size based on anallowable LBT delay (e.g., the delays 560, 602, and 1160) in thetransmission slot. The first wireless communication device maycorrespond to a UE 115 and the second wireless communication device maycorrespond to a BS 105. The allocation size may correspond to thedurations 516, 616, or 1116.

At step 1420, the method 1400 includes transmitting, by the firstwireless communication device from the second wireless communicationdevice, a UL communication signal in the transmission slot. The ULcommunication signal includes a UL data portion (e.g., the UL datasignals 524, 624, and 724) based on the allocation size and a fillerportion (e.g., the filler signals 526, 626, 726, 826, 926, and 1026)based on an LBT delay (e.g., a LBT completion time at the first wirelesscommunication device) in the transmission slot.

The filler portion can be received before the UL data portion, after theUL data portion, and/or within the UL data portion. The filler portioncan include repetitions of encoded information (e.g., the repeating datasymbols 930) in the UL data portion, pilot information (e.g., the DMRSs830), and/or filler data (e.g., the filler data 730). The UL dataportion can include PUSCH data or long PUCCH data.

In an embodiment, the first wireless communication device can furtherperform an LBT procedure before transmitting the UL communicationsignal. The first wireless communication device can determine a durationof the filler portion based on a completion of the LBT procedure. Thefirst wireless communication device can select a starting symbol fromamong a plurality of candidate starting symbols in the message based onthe completion time of the LBT procedure.

In an embodiment, the first wireless communication device can furthertransmit pilot information in the UL data portion based on a scramblingsequence independent of a starting symbol of the UL data portion withinthe transmission slot.

Information and signals may be represented using any of a variety ofdifferent technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions,commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may bereferenced throughout the above description may be represented byvoltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles,optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection withthe disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with ageneral-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmablelogic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor,but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration).

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, softwareexecuted by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may bestored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are withinthe scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to thenature of software, functions described above can be implemented usingsoftware executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, orcombinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may alsobe physically located at various positions, including being distributedsuch that portions of functions are implemented at different physicallocations. Also, as used herein, including in the claims, “or” as usedin a list of items (for example, a list of items prefaced by a phrasesuch as “at least one of” or “one or more of”) indicates an inclusivelist such that, for example, a list of [at least one of A, B, or C]means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C).

Further embodiments of the present disclosure include a method ofwireless communication, comprising transmitting, by a first wirelesscommunication device to a second wireless communication device, amessage indicating an uplink allocation in a transmission slot, theuplink allocation including an allocation size based on an allowablelisten-before-talk (LBT) delay in the transmission slot; and receiving,by the first wireless communication device from the second wirelesscommunication device, an uplink communication signal in the transmissionslot, the uplink communication signal including an uplink data portionbased on the allocation size and a filler portion associated with an LBTdelay in the transmission slot.

In some embodiments, wherein the receiving further includes receivingthe filler portion before the uplink data portion. In some embodiments,wherein the receiving further includes receiving the filler portionafter the uplink data portion. In some embodiments, wherein thereceiving further includes receiving the filler portion within theuplink data portion. In some embodiments, wherein the receiving furtherincludes receiving pilot information in the filler portion. In someembodiments, wherein the receiving further includes receiving uplinkdata in the uplink data portion; and receiving a repetition of at leasta portion of the uplink data in the filler portion. In some embodiments,the method further comprises determining, by the first wirelesscommunication device, one or more candidate starting symbols within thetransmission slot for the uplink allocation based on the allowable LBTdelay, wherein the message indicates the one or more candidate startingsymbols. In some embodiments, wherein the message indicates a symbolrange within the transmission slot, and wherein the one or morecandidate starting symbols are within the symbol range. In someembodiments, wherein the receiving includes performing, by the firstwireless communication device, blind detection based on the one or morecandidate starting symbols. In some embodiments, the method furthercomprises determining, by the first wireless communication device, achannel estimate based on pilot information in the uplink communicationsignal, the pilot information associated with a scrambling sequenceindependent of a starting symbol of the uplink data portion. In someembodiments, the method further comprises transmitting, by the firstwireless communication device, a message indicating a configuration fortransmitting at least one of filler data, a repetition of uplink data,or pilot information in the filler portion. In some embodiments, whereinthe uplink data portion is associated with at least one of a physicaluplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a long physical uplink control channel(PUCCH).

Further embodiments of the present disclosure include a method ofwireless communication, comprising receiving, by a first wirelesscommunication device from a second wireless communication device, amessage indicating an uplink allocation in a transmission slot, theuplink allocation including an allocation size based on an allowablelisten-before-talk (LBT) delay in the transmission slot; andtransmitting, by the first wireless communication device to the secondwireless communication device, an uplink communication signal in thetransmission slot, the uplink communication signal including an uplinkdata portion based on the allocation size and a filler portion based onan LBT delay in the transmission slot.

In some embodiments, wherein the transmitting further includestransmitting the filler portion before the uplink data portion. In someembodiments, wherein the transmitting further includes transmitting thefiller portion after the uplink data portion. In some embodiments,wherein the transmitting further includes transmitting the uplinkcommunication signal including the filler portion within the uplink dataportion. In some embodiments, wherein the transmitting further includestransmitting pilot information in the filler portion. In someembodiments, wherein the transmitting further includes transmittinguplink data in the uplink data portion; and transmitting a repetition ofat least a portion of the uplink data in the filler portion. In someembodiments, the method further comprises performing, by the firstwireless communication device, an LBT procedure before transmitting theuplink communication signal; and determining, by the first wirelesscommunication device, a duration of the filler portion based on acompletion time of the LBT procedure. In some embodiments, wherein themessage indicates one or more candidate starting symbols within thetransmission slot for the uplink allocation based on the allowable LBTdelay. In some embodiments, wherein the message indicates a symbol rangewithin the transmission slot, and wherein the one or more candidatestarting symbols are within the symbol range. In some embodiments, themethod further comprises selecting, by the first wireless communicationdevice, a starting symbol from among the one or more candidate startingsymbols based on the completion time of the LBT procedure, wherein thetransmitting includes transmitting the uplink data portion beginning atthe selected starting symbol. In some embodiments, wherein thetransmitting includes transmitting pilot information in the uplink dataportion based on a scrambling sequence independent of a starting symbolof the uplink data portion within the transmission slot. In someembodiments, wherein the uplink data portion is associated with at leastone of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a long physicaluplink control channel (PUCCH).

Further embodiments of the present disclosure include an apparatuscomprising a transceiver configured to transmit, to a second wirelesscommunication device, a message indicating an uplink allocation in atransmission slot, the uplink allocation including an allocation sizebased on an allowable listen-before-talk (LBT) delay in the transmissionslot; and receive, from the second wireless communication device, anuplink communication signal in the transmission slot, the uplinkcommunication signal including an uplink data portion based on theallocation size and a filler portion associated with an LBT delay in thetransmission slot.

In some embodiments, wherein the transceiver is further configured toreceive the uplink communication signal by receiving the filler portionbefore the uplink data portion. In some embodiments, wherein thetransceiver is further configured to receive the uplink communicationsignal by receiving the filler portion after the uplink data portion. Insome embodiments, wherein the transceiver is further configured toreceive the uplink communication signal by receiving the filler portionwithin the uplink data portion. In some embodiments, wherein thetransceiver is further configured to receive the uplink communicationsignal by receiving pilot information in the filler portion. In someembodiments, wherein the transceiver is further configured to receivethe uplink communication signal by receiving uplink data in the uplinkdata portion; and receiving a repetition of at least a portion of theuplink data in the filler portion. In some embodiments, the apparatusfurther comprises a processor configured to determine one or morecandidate starting symbols within the transmission slot for the uplinkallocation based on the allowable LBT delay, wherein the messageindicates the one or more candidate starting symbols. In someembodiments, wherein the message indicates a symbol range within thetransmission slot, and wherein the one or more candidate startingsymbols are within the symbol range. In some embodiments, wherein theprocessor is further configured to perform blind detection based on theone or more candidate starting symbols. In some embodiments, theapparatus further comprises a processor configured to determine achannel estimate based on pilot information in the uplink communicationsignal, the pilot information associated with a scrambling sequenceindependent of a starting symbol of the uplink data portion. In someembodiments, wherein the transceiver is further configured to transmit amessage indicating a configuration for transmitting at least one offiller data, a repetition of uplink data, or pilot information in thefiller portion. In some embodiments, wherein the uplink data portion isassociated with at least one of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)or a long physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

Further embodiments of the present disclosure include an apparatuscomprising a transceiver configured to receive, from a second wirelesscommunication device, a message indicating an uplink allocation in atransmission slot, the uplink allocation including an allocation sizebased on an allowable listen-before-talk (LBT) delay in the transmissionslot; and transmit, to the second wireless communication device, anuplink communication signal in the transmission slot, the uplinkcommunication signal including an uplink data portion based on theallocation size and a filler portion based on an LBT delay in thetransmission slot.

In some embodiments, wherein the transceiver is further configured totransmit the uplink communication signal by transmitting the fillerportion before the uplink data portion. In some embodiments, wherein thetransceiver is further configured to transmit the uplink communicationsignal by transmitting the filler portion after the uplink data portion.In some embodiments, wherein the transceiver is further configured totransmit the uplink communication signal by transmitting the fillerportion within the uplink data portion. In some embodiments, wherein thetransceiver is further configured to transmit the uplink communicationsignal by transmitting pilot information in the filler portion. In someembodiments, wherein the transceiver is further configured to transmitthe uplink communication signal by transmitting uplink data in theuplink data portion; and transmitting a repetition of at least a portionof the uplink data in the filler portion. In some embodiments, theapparatus further comprises a processor configured to perform an LBTprocedure before transmitting the uplink communication signal; anddetermine a duration of the filler portion based on a completion time ofthe LBT procedure. In some embodiments, wherein the message indicatesone or more candidate starting symbols within the transmission slot forthe uplink allocation based on the allowable LBT delay. In someembodiments, wherein the message indicates a symbol range within thetransmission slot, and wherein the one or more candidate startingsymbols are within the symbol range. In some embodiments, wherein theprocessor is further configured to select a starting symbol from amongthe one or more candidate starting symbols based on the completion timeof the LBT procedure, and wherein the transceiver is further configuredto transmit the uplink communication signal by transmitting the uplinkdata portion beginning at the selected starting symbol. In someembodiments, wherein the transceiver is further configured to transmitthe uplink communication signal by transmitting pilot information in theuplink data portion based on a scrambling sequence independent of astarting symbol of the uplink data portion within the transmission slot.In some embodiments, wherein the uplink data portion is associated withat least one of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a longphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

Further embodiments of the present disclosure include acomputer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, theprogram code comprising code for causing a first wireless communicationdevice to transmit, to a second wireless communication device, a messageindicating an uplink allocation in a transmission slot, the uplinkallocation including an allocation size based on an allowablelisten-before-talk (LBT) delay in the transmission slot; and code forcausing the first wireless communication device to receive, from thesecond wireless communication device, an uplink communication signal inthe transmission slot, the uplink communication signal including anuplink data portion based on the allocation size and a filler portionassociated with an LBT delay in the transmission slot.

In some embodiments, wherein the code for causing the first wirelesscommunication device to receive the uplink communication signal isfurther configured to receive the filler portion before the uplink dataportion. In some embodiments, wherein the code for causing the firstwireless communication device to receive the uplink communication signalis further configured to receive the filler portion after the uplinkdata portion. In some embodiments, wherein the code for causing thefirst wireless communication device to receive the uplink communicationsignal is further configured to receive the filler portion within theuplink data portion. In some embodiments, wherein the code for causingthe first wireless communication device to receive the uplinkcommunication signal is further configured to receive pilot informationin the filler portion. In some embodiments, wherein the code for causingthe first wireless communication device to receive the uplinkcommunication signal is further configured to receive uplink data in theuplink data portion; and receive a repetition of at least a portion ofthe uplink data in the filler portion. In some embodiments, thecomputer-readable medium further comprises code for causing the firstwireless communication device to determine one or more candidatestarting symbols within the transmission slot for the uplink allocationbased on the allowable LBT delay, wherein the message indicates the oneor more candidate starting symbols. In some embodiments, wherein themessage indicates a symbol range within the transmission slot, andwherein the one or more candidate starting symbols are within the symbolrange. In some embodiments, the computer-readable medium furthercomprises code for causing the first wireless communication device toperform blind detection based on the one or more candidate startingsymbols. In some embodiments, the computer-readable medium furthercomprises code for causing the first wireless communication device todetermine a channel estimate based on pilot information in the uplinkcommunication signal, the pilot information associated with a scramblingsequence independent of a starting symbol of the uplink data portion. Insome embodiments, the computer-readable medium further comprises codefor causing the first wireless communication device to transmit amessage indicating a configuration for transmitting at least one offiller data, a repetition of uplink data, or pilot information in thefiller portion. In some embodiments, wherein the uplink data portion isassociated with at least one of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)or a long physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

Further embodiments of the present disclosure include acomputer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, theprogram code comprising code for causing a first wireless communicationdevice to receive, from a second wireless communication device, amessage indicating an uplink allocation in a transmission slot, theuplink allocation including an allocation size based on an allowablelisten-before-talk (LBT) delay in the transmission slot; and code forcausing the first wireless communication device to transmit, to thesecond wireless communication device, an uplink communication signal inthe transmission slot, the uplink communication signal including anuplink data portion based on the allocation size and a filler portionbased on an LBT delay in the transmission slot.

In some embodiments, wherein the code for causing the first wirelesscommunication device to transmit the uplink communication signal isfurther configured to transmit the filler portion before the uplink dataportion. In some embodiments, wherein the code for causing the firstwireless communication device to transmit the uplink communicationsignal is further configured to transmit the filler portion after theuplink data portion. In some embodiments, wherein the code for causingthe first wireless communication device to transmit the uplinkcommunication signal is further configured to transmit the uplinkcommunication signal including the filler portion within the uplink dataportion. In some embodiments, wherein the code for causing the firstwireless communication device to transmit the uplink communicationsignal is further configured to transmit pilot information in the fillerportion. In some embodiments, wherein the code for causing the firstwireless communication device to transmit the uplink communicationsignal is further configured to transmit uplink data in the uplink dataportion; and transmit a repetition of at least a portion of the uplinkdata in the filler portion. In some embodiments, the computer-readablemedium further comprises code for causing the first wirelesscommunication device to perform an LBT procedure before transmitting theuplink communication signal; and code for causing the first wirelesscommunication device to determine a duration of the filler portion basedon a completion time of the LBT procedure. In some embodiments, whereinthe message indicates one or more candidate starting symbols within thetransmission slot for the uplink allocation based on the allowable LBTdelay. In some embodiments, wherein the message indicates a symbol rangewithin the transmission slot, and wherein the one or more candidatestarting symbols are within the symbol range. In some embodiments, thecomputer-readable medium further comprises code for causing the firstwireless communication device to select a starting symbol from among theone or more candidate starting symbols based on the completion time ofthe LBT procedure, wherein the code for causing the first wirelesscommunication device to transmit the uplink communication signal isfurther configured to transmit the uplink data portion beginning at theselected starting symbol. In some embodiments, wherein the code forcausing the first wireless communication device to transmit the uplinkcommunication signal is further configured to transmit pilot informationin the uplink data portion based on a scrambling sequence independent ofa starting symbol of the uplink data portion within the transmissionslot. In some embodiments, wherein the uplink data portion is associatedwith at least one of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a longphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

Further embodiments of the present disclosure include an apparatuscomprising means for transmitting, to a second wireless communicationdevice, a message indicating an uplink allocation in a transmissionslot, the uplink allocation including an allocation size based on anallowable listen-before-talk (LBT) delay in the transmission slot; andmeans for receiving, from the second wireless communication device, anuplink communication signal in the transmission slot, the uplinkcommunication signal including an uplink data portion based on theallocation size and a filler portion associated with an LBT delay in thetransmission slot.

In some embodiments, wherein the means for receiving the uplinkcommunication signal is further configured to receive the filler portionbefore the uplink data portion. In some embodiments, wherein the meansfor receiving the uplink communication signal is further configured toreceive the filler portion after the uplink data portion. In someembodiments, wherein the means for receiving the uplink communicationsignal is further configured to receive the filler portion within theuplink data portion. In some embodiments, wherein the means forreceiving the uplink communication signal is further configured toreceive pilot information in the filler portion. In some embodiments,wherein the means for receiving the uplink communication signal isfurther configured to receive uplink data in the uplink data portion;and receive a repetition of at least a portion of the uplink data in thefiller portion. In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprisesmeans for determining one or more candidate starting symbols within thetransmission slot for the uplink allocation based on the allowable LBTdelay, wherein the message indicates the one or more candidate startingsymbols. In some embodiments, wherein the message indicates a symbolrange within the transmission slot, and wherein the one or morecandidate starting symbols are within the symbol range. In someembodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing blinddetection based on the one or more candidate starting symbols. In someembodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for determining achannel estimate based on pilot information in the uplink communicationsignal, the pilot information associated with a scrambling sequenceindependent of a starting symbol of the uplink data portion. In someembodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for transmitting amessage indicating a configuration for transmitting at least one offiller data, a repetition of uplink data, or pilot information in thefiller portion. In some embodiments, wherein the uplink data portion isassociated with at least one of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)or a long physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

Further embodiments of the present disclosure include an apparatuscomprising means for receiving, from a second wireless communicationdevice, a message indicating an uplink allocation in a transmissionslot, the uplink allocation including an allocation size based on anallowable listen-before-talk (LBT) delay in the transmission slot; andmeans for transmitting, to the second wireless communication device, anuplink communication signal in the transmission slot, the uplinkcommunication signal including an uplink data portion based on theallocation size and a filler portion based on an LBT delay in thetransmission slot.

In some embodiments, wherein the means for transmitting the uplinkcommunication signal is further configured to transmit the fillerportion before the uplink data portion. In some embodiments, wherein themeans for transmitting the uplink communication signal is furtherconfigured to transmit the filler portion after the uplink data portion.In some embodiments, wherein the means for transmitting the uplinkcommunication signal is further configured to transmit the uplinkcommunication signal including the filler portion within the uplink dataportion. In some embodiments, wherein the means for transmitting theuplink communication signal is further configured to transmit pilotinformation in the filler portion. In some embodiments, wherein themeans for transmitting the uplink communication signal is furtherconfigured to transmit uplink data in the uplink data portion; andtransmit a repetition of at least a portion of the uplink data in thefiller portion. In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprisesmeans for performing an LBT procedure before transmitting the uplinkcommunication signal; and means for determining a duration of the fillerportion based on a completion time of the LBT procedure. In someembodiments, wherein the message indicates one or more candidatestarting symbols within the transmission slot for the uplink allocationbased on the allowable LBT delay. In some embodiments, wherein themessage indicates a symbol range within the transmission slot, andwherein the one or more candidate starting symbols are within the symbolrange. In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means forselecting a starting symbol from among the one or more candidatestarting symbols based on the completion time of the LBT procedure,wherein the means for transmitting the uplink communication signal isfurther configured to transmit the uplink data portion beginning at theselected starting symbol. In some embodiments, wherein the means fortransmitting the uplink communication signal is further configured totransmit pilot information in the uplink data portion based on ascrambling sequence independent of a starting symbol of the uplink dataportion within the transmission slot. In some embodiments, wherein theuplink data portion is associated with at least one of a physical uplinkshared channel (PUSCH) or a long physical uplink control channel(PUCCH).

As those of some skill in this art will by now appreciate and dependingon the particular application at hand, many modifications, substitutionsand variations can be made in and to the materials, apparatus,configurations and methods of use of the devices of the presentdisclosure without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. In lightof this, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited tothat of the particular embodiments illustrated and described herein, asthey are merely by way of some examples thereof, but rather, should befully commensurate with that of the claims appended hereafter and theirfunctional equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communication, comprising:transmitting, by a first wireless communication device to a secondwireless communication device, a message indicating an uplink allocationin a transmission slot, the uplink allocation including an allocationsize based on an allowable listen-before-talk (LBT) delay in thetransmission slot; and receiving, by the first wireless communicationdevice from the second wireless communication device, an uplinkcommunication signal in the transmission slot, the uplink communicationsignal including an uplink data portion based on the allocation size anda filler portion associated with an LBT delay in the transmission slot.2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving further includes atleast one of: receiving the filler portion before the uplink dataportion; receiving the filler portion after the uplink data portion; orreceiving the filler portion within the uplink data portion.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the receiving further includes: receiving oneor more data symbols in the uplink data portion, the one or more datasymbols including uplink data and first pilot information; and receivingat least one of second pilot information or a repetition of at least onedata symbol of the one or more data symbols in the filler portion. 4.The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the firstwireless communication device, one or more candidate starting symbolswithin the transmission slot for the uplink allocation based on theallowable LBT delay.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the messageindicates at least one of: the one or more candidate starting symbols;or a symbol range within the transmission slot, the symbol rangeincluding the one or more candidate starting symbols.
 6. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the receiving includes: performing, by the firstwireless communication device, blind detection based on the one or morecandidate starting symbols.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining, by the first wireless communication device, achannel estimate based on pilot information in the uplink communicationsignal, the pilot information associated with a scrambling sequenceindependent of a starting symbol of the uplink data portion.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting, by the firstwireless communication device, a message indicating a configuration fortransmitting at least one of filler data, a repetition of uplink data,or pilot information in the filler portion.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the uplink data portion is associated with at least one of aphysical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a long physical uplink controlchannel (PUCCH).
 10. A method of wireless communication, comprising:receiving, by a first wireless communication device from a secondwireless communication device, a message indicating an uplink allocationin a transmission slot, the uplink allocation including an allocationsize based on an allowable listen-before-talk (LBT) delay in thetransmission slot; and transmitting, by the first wireless communicationdevice to the second wireless communication device, an uplinkcommunication signal in the transmission slot, the uplink communicationsignal including an uplink data portion based on the allocation size anda filler portion based on an LBT delay in the transmission slot.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the transmitting further includes at leastone of: transmitting the filler portion before the uplink data portion;transmitting the filler portion after the uplink data portion; ortransmitting the filler portion within the uplink data portion.
 12. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the transmitting further includes:transmitting one or more data symbols in the uplink data portion, theone or more data symbols including uplink data and first pilotinformation; and transmitting at least one of second pilot informationor a repetition of at least one data symbol of the one or more datasymbols in the filler portion.
 13. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising: performing, by the first wireless communication device, anLBT procedure before transmitting the uplink communication signal; anddetermining, by the first wireless communication device, a duration ofthe filler portion based on a completion time of the LBT procedure. 14.The method of claim 13, wherein the message indicates at least one of:one or more candidate starting symbols within the transmission slot forthe uplink allocation based on the allowable LBT delay; or a symbolrange within the transmission slot, the symbol range including the oneor more candidate starting symbols are within the symbol range.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, further comprising: selecting, by the first wirelesscommunication device, a starting symbol from the at least one of thesymbol range or the one or more candidate starting symbols based on thecompletion time of the LBT procedure, wherein the transmitting includestransmitting the uplink data portion beginning at the selected startingsymbol.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein the transmitting includes:transmitting pilot information in the uplink data portion based on ascrambling sequence independent of a starting symbol of the uplink dataportion within the transmission slot.
 17. The method of claim 10,wherein the uplink data portion is associated with at least one of aphysical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or a long physical uplink controlchannel (PUCCH).
 18. An apparatus comprising: a transceiver configuredto: transmit, to a second wireless communication device, a messageindicating an uplink allocation in a transmission slot, the uplinkallocation including an allocation size based on an allowablelisten-before-talk (LBT) delay in the transmission slot; and receive,from the second wireless communication device, an uplink communicationsignal in the transmission slot, the uplink communication signalincluding an uplink data portion based on the allocation size and afiller portion associated with an LBT delay in the transmission slot.19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to receive the uplink communication signal by at least oneof: receiving the filler portion before the uplink data portion;receiving the filler portion after the uplink data portion; or receivingthe filler portion within the uplink data portion.
 20. The apparatus ofclaim 18, wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive theuplink communication signal by: receiving one or more data symbols inthe uplink data portion, the one or more data symbols including uplinkdata and first pilot information; and receiving at least one of secondpilot information or a repetition of at least one data symbol of the oneor more data symbols in the filler portion.
 21. The apparatus of claim18, further comprising: a processor configured to determine one or morecandidate starting symbols within the transmission slot for the uplinkallocation based on the allowable LBT delay, wherein the messageindicates at least one of: the one or more candidate starting symbols;or a symbol range within the transmission slot, the symbol rangeincluding the one or more candidate starting symbols.
 22. The apparatusof claim 18, further comprising: a processor configured to determine achannel estimate based on pilot information in the uplink communicationsignal, the pilot information associated with a scrambling sequenceindependent of a starting symbol of the uplink data portion.
 23. Theapparatus of claim 18, wherein the transceiver is further configured to:transmit a message indicating a configuration for transmitting at leastone of filler data, a repetition of uplink data, or pilot information inthe filler portion.
 24. An apparatus comprising: a transceiverconfigured to: receive, from a second wireless communication device, amessage indicating an uplink allocation in a transmission slot, theuplink allocation including an allocation size based on an allowablelisten-before-talk (LBT) delay in the transmission slot; and transmit,to the second wireless communication device, an uplink communicationsignal in the transmission slot, the uplink communication signalincluding an uplink data portion based on the allocation size and afiller portion based on an LBT delay in the transmission slot.
 25. Theapparatus of claim 24, wherein the transceiver is further configured totransmit the uplink communication signal by at least one of:transmitting the filler portion before the uplink data portion;transmitting the filler portion after the uplink data portion; ortransmitting the filler portion within the uplink data portion.
 26. Theapparatus of claim 24, wherein the transceiver is further configured totransmit the uplink communication signal by: transmitting one or moredata symbols in the uplink data portion, the one or more data symbolsincluding uplink data and first pilot information; and transmitting atleast one of second pilot information or a repetition of at least onedata symbol of the one or more data symbols in the filler portion. 27.The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising: a processor configuredto: perform an LBT procedure before transmitting the uplinkcommunication signal; and determine a duration of the filler portionbased on a completion time of the LBT procedure.
 28. The apparatus ofclaim 27, wherein the message indicates at least one of: one or morecandidate starting symbols within the transmission slot for the uplinkallocation based on the allowable LBT delay; or a symbol range withinthe transmission slot, the symbol range including the one or morecandidate starting symbols.
 29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein theprocessor is further configured to: select a starting symbol from amongat least one of the one or more candidate starting symbols or the symbolrange based on the completion time of the LBT procedure, and wherein thetransceiver is further configured to: transmit the uplink communicationsignal by transmitting the uplink data portion beginning at the selectedstarting symbol.
 30. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the transceiveris further configured to: transmit the uplink communication signal bytransmitting pilot information in the uplink data portion based on ascrambling sequence independent of a starting symbol of the uplink dataportion within the transmission slot.